A Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat with a very short mod list and some quality tuning runs mid-9s.
The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is one of the quickest, fastest and most powerful American road cars ever, with the supercharged 707-horsepower muscle car running low-11s in stock form en route to a top speed around 200 miles per hour. That is all very impressive, but what makes the Hellcat cars even more attractive to racers is how easily you can add more power and make the car a whole lot quicker.
The video above is a fine example of that, with a lightly modified and tuned Hellcat Challenger running well into the mid-9-second quarter mile range.
The OST Hellcat
The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat in the video comes to us from the YouTube channel of Ricci Cavallaro. If you pay attention to the record-holding Hellcats, that name might seem familiar, as Ricci was one of the first supercharged Challenger owners to run in the 9s without a long mod list. He has since sold the car to the team from OST Dyno and that tuning shop has continued tinkering with the car.
When Cavallaro owned the car, he ran a best time of 9.88 with a 2.85 upper pulley, an overdrive lower pulley, larger fuel injectors, an engine tune, a stronger driveshaft and sticky drag radial tires. Since buying the Hellcat Challenger, OST has swapped to a 2.65 upper pulley and they have put some more time into tuning the car – including tuning the 8-speed automatic transmission.
With just those simple changes, the OST Challenger runs a 9.68 at 144 miles per hour in the video above and at a later date, this supercharged Challenger with the same modifications ran a best time of 9.49.
That is 9.49 at 145+ miles per hour with an upper and lower pulley change, larger injectors, an engine tune, a trans tune, a stronger driveshaft and drag radial tires – leaving no question as to why drag racers love the Hellcat cars.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
